Most fighters in the sport are represented by somebody, and most of the time it is by a manager. A fight manager is meant to focus on some basic things such as handling ancillary business deals and securing sponsorships. They’re handling the stuff outside the octagon. However, there’s more to that about MMA management.
The coach and manager of UFC star Calvin Kattar and Rob Font revealed to the public how the things work behind the scenes.
During an interview with Mixed Martial Arts, Tyson Chartier said that many fighters came to talk to him and open up about abusive managers they had.
“One big complaint I get from a lot of fighters that I don’t represent that reach out to me privately is, ‘I feel like my manager doesn’t really have my best interest in mind. But, if I leave them, I’m told I’ll get blacklisted and he’ll screw me over,’ so they get caught in this MMA purgatory where they don’t love who their manager is but they’ve been told in very uncertain terms that if you leave that said manager, you will be blacklisted with the UFC or whoever.”
Tyson Chartier has heard plenty of stories from fighters reaching out to him. Many only have the goal of getting into the UFC. Chartier also expressed his disappointment towards the cold reality of MMA management.
He added, “It’s tough man. Obviously, it’s a very dirty business on the management side. It’d be nice if there were some checks and balances there. That’s why you don’t see me having 100 athletes that I manage.”
Tyson Chartier has years of experience in MMA management. He also knows about the fighting stuff as he coaches some of his fighters too. Unlike some bad managers he mentioned before, Tyson Chartier values his fighters not only as a colleague but as a friend.
Chartier had started his management career out of the desire to help his teammates Rob Font and Calvin Kattar.
“And once you get to a certain level, you realize all these people coming out of the woodwork just want to make money off these people. They’re just a number to that person. They’re the new hot girl in the class. They want to take them out, bang ’em and move on to the next hot girl. I’m not gonna let my guys be whored out, for lack of a better term. I’m protecting these guys from these sharks.”
Chartier is clearly making a dig at one of UFC’s biggest managing operation Dominance MMA. Dominance MMA aka Ali Abdelaziz represents Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Kamaru Usman, Islam Makhachev, Henry Cejudo, Vincente Luque and many other UFC fighters. It’s often speculated how Abdelaziz refuses to antagonize the UFC in negotiations so his other clients wouldnt be facing backlash.